Friends Remember Advice and Lessons from Leon Russell
Fourteen months ago, the music world lost legendary rock and roller Leon Russell. His keyboard wizardry, clever songwriting, and unique, gravelly voice are sorely missed, but he left us a posthumous present, On a Distant Shore, to savor forever.
Mark Lambert produced the 12-song album, and Ray Goren, a young
Del Shannon's Dublin Sessions and Another Reissue from Big Star
Del Does Dublin
Sometimes, when a record label unearths material from the vaults, one listen tells you why it stayed unreleased for so long. Other times, the tracks are good enough to make you wonder how they could have remained in the can until now. The lion’s share of
Rick Hall: The Soul of Muscle Shoals
If you heard just about any soul, pop, or even country hit between 1960 and 1974, and well beyond, you were hearing a special sound produced by a musical genius named Rick Hall. In a little northern Alabama town called Muscle Shoals, Hall worked tirelessly — he would later write in
On "Dog," bluesman Charlie Parr sees canines on a par with humans
Charlie Parr Dog (Red House Records)
The great contemporary country blues artist Charlie Parr manages a trick of sly self-portraiture in his new album. His ingenious title song emanates from a dog’s point of view. The hound objects to a human-centric injustice, as Parr sings, “You say that I
Matthew O'Neill Takes Inspiration from Neil Young and Nature
Matthew O’Neill’s goal when recording his most recent album, Trophic Cascade, was “timelessness,” and with so much creative musical diversity flowing through it, its appeal will undoubtedly last for many generations.
Trophic Cascade, released on the environmental record label Underwater Panther Coalition, has touches of rock, folk, and
The Most Detailed Look Yet at Chris Bell Before and After Big Star
Chris Bell’s untimely death in 1978 not only robbed the world of his musical greatness, but also froze his artistic assets. A full appraisal of his art was retarded by the paucity of available recorded material that lingered for many years after his passing. Big Star’s debut, #1